Leila Dunbar, ISA AM, AAA, Specialty Studies: Pop Culture Memorabilia Including Sports And Entertainment

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Leila Dunbar
ISA member since May 17, 2011

(917) 860-1383 (Office)

4630 Charleston Ter NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20007 map

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About

Leila "Lee" Dunbar, former head of Sotheby’s Collectibles Department and 26-year veteran “Antiques Roadshow” appraiser, is the president of Leila Dunbar Appraisals And Consulting LLC, which offers pop culture memorabilia, vehicle and wine appraisals, consulting, auctioneering and media services to private clients, auction houses, corporations, media and institutions.

Major areas of expertise include sports and entertainment memorabilia, antique toys and banks, advertising ephemera, transportation memorabilia, vehicles, comics, comic art, Disney memorabilia, records, posters, vehicles, archives, wine and spirits, etc, with more than $950 million valued.

Projects/clients include the Smithsonian, Library Of Congress, Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, Original Rules Of Basketball By Dr. James Naismith ($4.3 million), Motown Historical Museum, New York Yankees Museum, United States Golf Association, PGA, Museum, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Yogi Berra Museum, Country Music And Rock And Roll Halls of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, collections of Keith Richards, Stephen Spielberg, Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, George Lucas, Liza Minnelli, Bobby Orr, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Mark Teixeira, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Ron Howard, Mickey Wright, Floyd Mayweather and Jeffrey Katzenberg; estates of Babe Ruth, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali, Prince, Lou Gehrig, Count Basie, Leonard Bernstein, Robin Williams, Gary Carter, Gregg Allman, Paul Newman, Dolph Schayes, Ben Novack (Batman), Bob Feller, Tammy Wynette, Joe Kubert, Charles Penney and Joe Frazier.

From 1999-2008 as Sotheby’s SVP, Lee’s department sold more than $75 million worth of memorabilia via live and online auctions of collectibles.  Sports highlights include the bat that Babe Ruth used to hit the first home run ever on Grand Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, for $1.25 million, a record for a bat and the 1919 contract selling Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees for $996,000, a record for a sports contract. High profile entertainment highlights include the Estate of Katharine Hepburn ($6 million); the Estate of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash ($4 million) and Property from the Collection of Cher ($3.5 million).

Television & Press Contributions: Since its inception in 1996, Lee has participated as a sports memorabilia, toys and collectibles appraiser on the PBS television series The Antiques Roadshow, appearing in more than 100 televised segments and providing more than 4,000 verbal auction estimates. Lee has also appeared on and/or contributed expertise to hundreds of news outlets, including USA Today, The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Sports Illustrated, the BBC, AP, ESPN, People, TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times, NPR, GQ, Country Living, Wall St. Journal, etc. Lee is the author of three collectibles reference books: Motorcycle Collectibles (1996), More Motorcycle Collectibles (1997) and Automobilia (1998).  In 2010 Lee was profiled in Forbes Magazine.  Recently she was featured in "Cool Jobs" on ESPNW.com and has contributed to several ESPN segments. In February 2017, Lee's article "Tom Brady's Stolen Super Bowl Jersey - What's It Worth" appeared in Sports Collectors Digest. (http://www.leiladunbar.com/press-blog/2017/02/13/tom-bradys-missing-super-bowl-jersey-priceless-or-worthless/).

Since 2013, Lee served served on the National Appraisal Foundation Board Of Trustees (currently as Chair), which oversees USPAP; is a certified member of the AAA and accredited member of the ISA; and has given numerous lectures and/or workshops to both appraisal groups. She has also spoken at the Concord Art Museum, ISHA National Conference, FAE Anatomy Of An Appraisal (Arnold Palmer Estate) NARI Homeshow, the American Bar Association, SABR (Society Of Baseball Researchers), the National Baseball Of Fame Symposium at Cooperstown and US Trust; AAA Webinars On Wine And Sports, International Sports Heritage Association, IAAO and the 2019 ASA conference in Santa Fe. 

Lee has auctioned for Sotheby's, Augusta (Couture) Auctions, Bertoia's, Goldin Auctions and Julien's Auctions. She has also raised more than $4 million as a benefit auctioneer, most recently for Jazz House Kids, the Appraisal Foundation For Education, Motown Historical Museum, Musicians On Call and Kareem Abdul Jabbar's Skyhook Foundation. 

See more at www.leiladunbar.com